Goose Roundup Planned City's Waterfowl Face Exile To Other States

Allentown's first Goose Roundup is scheduled for the third week of June, Parks Superintendent Donald R. Marushak announced yesterday.

And it will be an annual event because there's no way of stopping geese from setting up housekeeping at Lake Muhlenberg and the Trexler Park ponds, he said.

Marushak told the city Recreation Commission the trapping and transferring of the waterfowl will be supervised by the state Game Commission when the birds are molting and cannot fly.

Canoeists will herd the birds into nets, place them in cages and transport them by truck to another state. Marushak said they may go to one of four states.

North and South Carolina have been mentioned in the past as the transfer points, but he noted that they are in the north-south migratory flight pattern for Canada geese and the birds would return to Allentown when they can fly again.

"There would have to be some sort of harassment when they return," he said. The harassment could be nets or flags across the ponds.

"One factor that draws the geese to this area is the zillions of acres of harvested corn outside the city," he continued. "We are not going to solve everything. It will be a recurring problem and will not be a one-shot deal."

Norman Ziegler, chairman of the Allentown School District Athletic Council, complained that immediate steps should be taken to prevent geese at Lake Muhlenberg from entering the Allen High School soccer field along Parkway Boulevard.

"How can we ask our athletes to come out to practice on a field covered with goose droppings?" he asked. He said the athletes could be subject to hepatitis.

He said the number of students who turned out for soccer declined greatly after the first practice because of the goose and duck droppings on the field. He said $30,000 to $40,000 was spent to upgrade the field and construct a wire fence around it.

Marushak said the city should not get into a policing situation, telling people: "Don't feed the geese."

He challenged Ziegler's allegation that the athletes could get hepatitis by playing at the field. "The sick thing is not documented," he said.

He said the district can help solve the problem by hiring people to transport the geese out of the city.

A kite-flying festival is another event the Recreation Commission is planning, tentatively for June 22 at either Percy B. Ruhe or Keck Park.

Recreation Director Richard C. Hoffman initially suggested having the contest at Percy B. Ruhe Park but said its being in the area where planes take off from Queen City Municipal Airport could create a problem. "Keck sounds better now," he said.

His conception of the contest is to have playground children and others make kites from $1.50 kits rather than have elaborate and expensive kites. There would be no cash awards to winners.

Hoffman reported 92 coaches of city youth baseball teams turned out for this week's two-day clinic at the district's Trexler Middle School to promote certification by the city and the National Youth Coaches Association. The recreation bureau sponsored the clinic.

He said 20 others who enrolled backed out because of high school basketball playoffs. He said they and other coaches from the Allentown area may attend a second clinic 7-10 p.m. April 16-17 at Trexler. Any out-of-city coach will be required to pay a $15 fee to get certification from the national organization, as well as a $5 fee to cover the city's costs for videotapes used in the program.

"We will wait until after April to review the success of the clinics and talk of expanding them to other sports," Hoffman said.

Annabelle Creveling of the commission said a committee planning the annual Banquet of Champions will recommend in April what awards should be renamed or deleted because they no longer have sponsors.

Hoffman reported receipt of a letter from a day-care center asking that free swimming be continued for preschool-age children in the mornings at a "reasonable flat fee."

He said he intends to abide by a recently adopted day-care center ordinance governing the health and safety of the children. He said the free swimming will be continued only at Fountain Park Pool, and day-care centers must provide one adult supervisor for every four children from a center.

Marushak said no firm decision has been made yet on whether the city will contract for the operation and maintenance of the Municipal Golf Course. It was reported last month that the city is considering the move.

He reaffirmed that the golf course is not operating at a profit, that the fees do not cover the costsof operation and maintenance and that the city can regulate the fee structure established by the concessionaire.